“Success leaves clues” is a fantastically short yet true statement about success.

….and after 28 years I’m starting to notice a trend about all the successful people I admire:

All of them….. Actually give a fuck.

I mean….they TRULY TRULY TRULY give a fuck about something.

I’m talking about people who have been successful for long periods of time. Not just short bursts.

You know what….let’s just jump into a couple of examples and you’ll see what I mean:

Herb Kelleher of SouthWest Airlines(the only airline in history to stay profitable every year) – I’ve seen him speak 3 times (first | second | third), and I gotta say….they guy ACTUALLLLYYY cares about his employees and having as much fun as possible. It’s allll he talks about the whole time, and you can tell he genuinely cares. He also is a fun guy himself, and refuses to work at a company that’s not the same way.

Earl Nightingale – He’s the guy who kicked off the whole self-help market….and I’ve never heard of someone so dedicate to the quality of his work as this guy. I’ve listened to pretty much every piece of content (that still exists) of his….and he never put out something “bad”. His stuff is also so jam-packed with amazing advice that it leaves other stuff behind. Sometimes I can’t believe they don’t just play his audio recordings on repeat at schools.

Howard Stern – The guy is literally MANIC on the insistance that his show be FUNNY. To do that he’s been through massive “1st amendment” legal battles and fights with his own employers and the FCC…..all so he can “say what he wants”. He’s consistently been the highest paid celebrity over the years because of it….all stemming from his absolute insistance that his silly little radio program “be funny”.

Steve Jobs – Watch every interview with him online (here’s one to start), and notice how god-damn-committed he is to “making the absolute BEST products on the market”. Apple consistently does this despite people hating them (for not using Flash on iPhone & iPads, getting rid of floppy disk drives, getting rid of physical keyboards on phones etc). I personally use a MacBook Air now….and I’ve gotta say that everything about it IS IN FACT “just waayyy better” than anything I’ve ever used before…..and it’s that extreme commitment Apple has to making incredible products that produces that feeling in me.

Gary Halbert – He’s the most revered direct response marketer I’ve ever heard of…and I love listening to anything he says….because he’s SO DAMN INSISTENT on getting his point across clearly. He said something I’ve never forgot, “The number one mistake people make in trying to make money (online or anywhere else)…..is they expect to get a lot of money, without first giving a MASSSSSIIVE amount of value first.”

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14 comments on “Actually Giving A Fuck”

Haha this is definitely worth putting in my Google reader! I have to say I admire Steve Jobs greatly, his innovative approach to every product he markets. He’s such a brilliant man. And yes! Success leave clues, so definitely if we want to succeed we all must follow their traces! Thanks for posting this!

No kidding! Thanks for the business- let me know if there’s anything you’d like to see us add to our menu or any other places you’d like to see our stuff. :D (How did you find out I was the guy behind the Green Cart?!)

Also- just bought This Is Earl Nightingale. I also downloaded his Lead the Field CDs and have been listening to them in the car today… good stuff. I like his voice. He sounds like the grandfather I never had ;)